Dust mop cleaner



March 10, 1936. c, BAKER DUST MOP CLEANER Filed May 14, 1955 0.13.,Bakef,

PUMP

Patented Mar. 10, 1936 nusr nor cnnsusa Charles L. Baker, Grosso Points. Mich. Application my 14, ms. semi No. 21.449 Claims. (01. is-is) My invention relates to improvements in cleaners for dust mops, and more particularly of the vacuum type. and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements here in described and'claimed.

Dust mop cleaners of this type have heretoiore been made in which hinged covers have been provided which may be moved apart to permit the mop to be inserted in a cleaning box. The disadvantage of such a construction is that space must be left for the mop handle and this space extends for the full length of the cover and permits air to be drawn in at some distance from the mop proper, thus lowering the efliciency of thedevice. I

. c Other mop cleaners have-been proposed in v which it is necessary to break the vacuum or to shut oi! the current of the motor before the cover can be raised, as in placing the mop in position go or in removing it. An object of my invention is to provide a mop cleaning device which may be used in connection with a suction creating means of any suitable typein which the stream ofair entering the 26 cleaner isconcentrated around the handle of the .mop and is directed toward the mop body as ed from those in which the air'is drawn in at varying distances. from the mop so A further object is to provide a device which forms a closure for preventing the drawing in of the air at adistance from the body of the mop and also a means-by which a quantity of air admitted can be regulated. -IA iurther object oi the invention is to provide a device oi the type described in which this closure member also serves as a means of admitting air when desired so that the cover to which it is attached may be readily raised is not held down by the suction.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification and the novel features oi the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, in which: Y

Figure l is a perspective view of the device. Figure 2 is a longitudinal central section of the device.

'Figure3isasection alonsthe lined-8 of' Fig. 2. I

Figurei isasection along theline 4-40! v Figure 5 is a sectional view of a modified form v of the device. and

l 'igurefiisaviewshowingapluralityofcleaning units arranged in parallel- In carrying out my invention I provide a box 5 tively, and side members 3 and 4. The, members i and! are prolonged as shown in the drawing and form supports. The side members are preferably joined by an integral bottom having 10 sloping sides 3 and 4 respectively, as shown in Fig. 4; The bottom also slopes from the side 2'-see Fig. 2-toward the side I, and a tube or pipe I is provided for attachment to a flexible connection from a vacuum cleaner of any suit- 15 able type, not shown.

A lid i0 is hinged preferably by strap hinges I to a top 6. The top is provided with a rec-=- tangular opening 8 and the edges of the top adjacent to the opening are flanged to pro- 20 vide sheli portions 8. The lid, or closure member Iii fits snugly in the opening l and rests on the shelf members 8 so that the upper surfaceof the lid is flush with that of the top 6. g

The lid it is provided with a slot II that ex- 25 tends inwardly from one edge of the lid. This is to reoeive thehandle oi the mop. A hinged shutter member I! is provided having a curved recess l3 arranged to conform with the curve.- ture oi the end of 'the'slot' II. This shutter My member is pivoted at II, as shown in the drawn the interior of the casing or box I provide rode it which run longitudinally of the device and rods i6 whichrun transversely, these rods 35 being located near the sides to form' means whereby the strands of the mop may be separated as itis turned A grid is formed below the upper rojds by means of longitudinal bars ii and vtransverse bars I 8. o

. From the foregoing description 01 the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood. Assuming that a suitable connection has been made to the pipe 5, the lid It may be raised and the mop placed therein 5 in vertical position. The handle may be passed through the slot ii to the end thereof and the lid in may be closed.

The shutter I2 is now brought up into substantial engagement with the handle which is so received in the recess ii, the major portion of the slot ll being covered by the shutter and when the motor of the suction pump is started the mop can be twisted or raised or lowered and the upper rods may be used to separate the moved from the mu. line strands by thrusting the mop against them and the grid may be used in order to knock the dirt off from the strands thus separated, the dirt falling down to the bottom and being drawn out of the pipe 5 by the vacuum. It will be noted that the shape of the recess in the shutter i1 is such as to let the necessary stream of air in to carry oi! the dust, but that this stream is concentrated along the handle directly upon the body of the mop. The extent or the opening about the handle can be regulated by moving the shutter l2.

when the cleaning is finished the shutter i! may be moved away from the slot II and this breaks the vacuum so that the lid Hi can be easily lilted and the mop can be taken out without cutting oi! the current to the vacuum pump. Where a number of mops have tobe cleaned this cuts down the time in the cleaning operation.

It will be noted that the strap hinges are elongated so that the lid I. may be raised and lowered over the side 4. When this is done a screen I! may be placed in the opening I and a pillow may be placed on the top ot the screen, the vacuum pump will be started and the pillow may be agitated so that the dust maybe sucked down into the box and thence into the vacuum cleaner.

When it is desired to cut oi! the entrance of air through the slot II the shutter I! may be position shown in Figure 1 to the dotted line position against a stop 20, thus closing the slot completely. It another unit should be used in parallel, the full power 0! the vacuum will be exerted on the other unit which would not occur if the slot were left open when the device is not in use. but while still connected with the vacuum pump.

InFigureGIhave shownapairoieasings in parallel indicated at A and B, the outlet pipes 5 being connected to a pipe P leading to a vacuum pump M. In the event that the unit A for instance is not in use,,- the shutter I! may be movedto completely cover the slot ll so that even while the vacuum pump is connected with the casing and is in operation, no air will A,butallthepowero1 willbeexertedontho be drawninto the casin the motor driven pump casing 13.

I claim:-

1. A dust mop cleaning device comprising a casing, an outlet pipe communicating with the casing near the bottom for attachment to a vacuum cleaner, a hinged lid for said casing provided with a stop and having a slot extending inwardly from one edge. and adapted to receive a mop handle, a pivoted shutter comprising a flat plate having a recess arranged to receive the handle, when the handle is at the inher end of the slot, said shutter being adapted to cover themaior part of the slot during the normal cleaning operation, and movable to engage the stop and to entirely close the slot.

2. A cleaner-tor dust mops comprising a casing having a top provided with an opening, fit within the opening and hinged to the top. said lid being provided with a slot extending inwardly from one edge thereof toward the center of the lid, the inner end of the slot being rounded, a shutter member comprising a flat plate pivoted on one side of said slot and having a recess arranged to receive a mop handle, a portion 01 said recess conforming to the curvature oi! the rounded inner end 0! the slot and to the curved walls of the, handle and adapted to register with the rounded end 01 the slot, said shutter being arranged to cover the major part or the slot and being movable away trom the slot. I

3.1m arrangement for cleaning dust mops comprising a plurality of casings, each casing having an outlet pipe, a vacuum pump, means (or connecting the outlets with the vacum pump, each of said casings having a hinged cover, said cover having a slot extending from the side opposite the hinges toward the center for receiving a mop handle, and a pivoted shutter carried by the cover and arranged to close the maior portion 01 the slot during the normal cleaning operation and to entirely close the slot when the mop handle is removed, whereby. full power or the vacuum will be exerted on the other casing. CHARIES L. BAKER. 

